Pritiko turns to Ford for championship points boost

The No. 21 Global Warranty Toyota Town Camry made a big offseason change.

It now has a Ford engine in it.

It’s the piece Matt Pritiko believes, after hovering near the top of the point standings for four years, will finally deliver an APC United Late Model series crown.

Matt Pritiko.

“New car, new engine, same team,” the London native said. “We’ve been Chevy since the day I started. We’ve been testing the past few weeks (at Delaware) and we have a faster car than we did last year, so we’re really looking forward to getting started again.”

On the Ontario tour, a Ford engine means having to put more weight on the vehicle. They make more power than the Chevys, so the circuit tries to even the field with extra lead in the car.

“If you look at the results from all the big tracks – Jukasa and Delaware (which account for four of the 10-race schedule) – every car that went ahead had a Ford in it. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish by getting those races now.”

The series starts Saturday night at Sunset Speedway in Innisfil. Pritiko has led all kinds of laps at the track but has never won there. He aims to send an immediate message this time.

“A good start means the championship, realistically,” he said. “Last year, we didn’t have the best run in the first three races. We had a bad motor and it wasn’t producing the way it should’ve been. We were actually down a cylinder and found that out after we pulled it. We still finished second in the points.

“That shows the quality of our team and equipment we have. So we’re looking for a top three in every race and all of those add up to give you a chance in the last race of the year (Sept. 14 at Delaware).”

Though 12-time race winner and dominant 2017 performer Brandon Watson isn’t in the 33-car Sunset field, there are still plenty of contenders. Defending champ JR Fitzpatrick and former series frontrunner Andrew Gresel are in the field, along with last year’s top rookie Jake Sheridan.

Gresel is one of four ironmen, along with longtime Delaware competitor Jamie Cox, Mat Box and Billy Schwartzenburg, who have competed in every race over the first four seasons.

To help boost late model car counts around the province, the APC series management started an incentive program that rewards teams for competing full-time on the circuit and at their home track (including Delaware).

If drivers maintain perfect attendance in the series, they are eligible to win cash and free tires – and the chance to earn $5,000 if they win both the APC and home track titles.

Pritiko could add a couple of Friday night cards at home, but is also planning to enter the $75,000-to-win race at Jukasa Speedway on teh August long weekend.

“I’ll stick with mostly the APC stuff,” he said. “With 10 races (one more than last year) on the schedule, that’s a pretty solid season. We may go to Delaware a bit to get used to the bigger tracks. We’ve been out for practice on Mondays and we’ve seen huge improvements – not only in the engine, but the driving, too.”

The APC series made some off-season alterations, too.They constructed a massive, new championship trophy that stands 31/2 feet tall and weighs 42 pounds.